Summer Road Trip Part III of III: Yellowstone National Park (Park #3)
As they say, life got in the way, so this post is a belated--I hope you enjoy it anyway!
When I was in junior high, my Mom, sister, Grammy, and Pop-Pop loaded up in our Toyota Camry and drove to Yellowstone National Park. This trip created many memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Some of these memories are what you would expect and some... are not. My most vivid memory of the trip is driving through the middle of the Nevada desert with no air conditioning while chugging liters of water. My Mom warned me that there were no bathrooms for many miles. I was 13. I ignored her. Guess what? Mom was right. There were no bathrooms for miles. There were also no trees and no bushes. Just us and miles of open, flat land. So, as much as I would like to tell you that the most jaw-dropping moment of my first trip to Yellowstone was seeing a geyser or wondering at the splendor of a mud volcano, that would be a lie. My best moment was when, in the distance, I spotted a truck-sized pile of gravel at a construction site. After leaving the gravel pile, we drove for a solid 45 minutes before we reached an actual restroom. I sang that gravel pile's praises the whole darn way.
This time around, my hope for our family road trip was to create memories that did not involve sullying a construction site. I am proud to say that we accomplished this goal many times over. #winning
We arrived in Yellowstone in the late afternoon and checked in at the Bridge Bay Campground. Bridge Bay is one of five reservable campgrounds in the park. Although Yellowstone has a number of first-come, first-served campsites, most are full by 8am each morning. We made our reservations about six months in advance and only Bridge Bay, the largest campground in the park, had reservable sites available. My advice, book as soon as you know when you will be traveling.
When looking for a campsite, think about what you want to see in the park. Although the distances between areas is not far milage wise, it can take a couple of hours to travel from one side of the park to the other. Sometimes this is due to high volume of cars, other times this is due to a bison chilling in the road because, well, he lives here, he weighs 1,000 pounds, and he does what he wants.
Consider camping at two different campgrounds during your stay to minimize your travel time. Or, if you want to stay put and would like a more central location, I recommend the Canyon Area. A detailed park map can be found here.
When we arrived at Bridge Bay we were given our campsite assignment. While the campground itself was well maintained, we did have a major problem. Not all campsites in Bridge Bay have bear boxes. In fact, most do not. If you stay at Bridge Bay, I recommend requesting the following sites in the H-loop: 328 (pull in front site), 389-391 (all back in sites). These sites provide relative privacy via tree cover, and a bear box. We moved to 328 after our first night and, from there, it was smooth sailing.
On our first full day in Yellowstone we drove over to the Fishing Bridge and Yellowstone Lake areas (which neighbor one another). Fishing Bridge has a visitor center, general store, grocery, and diner. They also have showers and laundry facilities for Fishing Bridge and Bridge Bay campers. We had lunch at the Lake Lodge and enjoyed a spectacular view.
After lunch, we planned to drive to the Madison area to check out the Junior Ranger Station. As with all roads in Yellowstone, there is a lot to see along the way. This map shows all the stops we made. As you can see, the Madison area was #6 out of 9 stops. We didn't make it there until 4pm but had a great time on the journey!
1. Fishing Bridge/Lake Lodge, 2: Mud Volcano , 3: Hayden Valley (Bison herds!), 4: Canyon Area and Upper Yellowstone Falls, 5: Norris Geyser Area, 6: Junior Ranger Station, 7: Firehole Canyon Drive, 8: Fountatin Paint Pots , 9: Old Faithful Area
Mud Volcano: This area is a must see. Besides an awesome array of mud pots, there is a hot spring cave where steam pours out and water rushes through making a roaring sound--it feels like there is a dragon hiding inside. I half expected Daenerys to come charging out any second. Besides some great geological features, there is also a big bison that hangs out and poses by the boardwalk on most days.
Hayden Valley: This is one of two valleys known for animal viewing (Lemar Valley is the other). We saw several herds of bison. Drive through any time of day but look for the highest concentration of animals at dawn and dusk (let's be real, it will be dusk because dawn is like, early).
Canyon Area and Upper Yellowstone Falls: This area is huge and offers a ton of amenities (store, visitor center, etc). Older kids can earn a "Young Scientist," badge in the Canyon Area by learning about and recording information on the surrounding geology. We didn't have time for this but it seemed like a great program. We had a lot of places to be so we did a quick jaunt down a 1/4 mile, paved trail to the overlook of Upper Yellowstone Falls and headed out. Canyon is definitely worth exploring as there are great hikes in and around the falls. This is the area I recommended earlier as a camping spot for those wanting a central location.
Norris Geyser Area: This is Yellowstone, there are geysers everywhere, but Norris is a very popular spot given the amount that you can see in one location. There is a boardwalk trail through porcelain basin, an area that has no trees and is off-white in appearance. An additional boardwalk takes you to the Back Basin. More on the Norris area can be found here.
Junior Ranger Station: The Madison area is small. The Junior Ranger Station is about the size of a standard living room and is very cute. The kids were able to touch horns, furs, and bones collected around the park. They also offer Ranger led programs and a small bookstore. We walked along the river behind the Jr. Ranger Station. The water is cool but there are a number of small, calm pools where you can swim. Given that the rivers all very high when we were visiting, the Madison area was one of very few swimming locations.
Firehole Canyon Drive: Before leaving for Yellowstone, I did a lot of research. The one thing I really wanted to do was swim the Firehole River with the kids. Due to the high water and unsafe swimming conditions, the area was closed while we were there (wah-wah). We drove through to check it out though and there is parking and a wooden walkway down to the riverbank. Here is a post I read about Firehole River before we left for the park.
Fountain Paint Pots: This area was a fun one to walk. The boardwalk is about a 1/2 mile loop and you pass a number of mud pots and hot springs along the way. There is not as much to see as Norris but mud pots are one of my favorite features at the park and this location allowed us to see quite a few.
Old Faithful Area: Obviously, Old Faithful is a popular spot. We had dinner in the lodge and were able to see the geyser erupt on our way in and our way out. In addition to the Old Faithful geyser, there is a paved trail and adjoining boardwalks to walk. Additionally, if you have bikes, there are about 4 miles of trails to ride around on out of the Old Faithful area. You can also rent bikes at the Snow Lodge Store.
Overall, our whirlwind tour made for a crazy but well balanced day. We were able to see a lot of sites within the park, do a little hiking at each spot, and enjoy time together away from electronics and cell service. All and all it was a good start to our Yellowstone visit.
At the start of our Yellowstone trip each of the girls picked one activity they wanted to do at the park. Madison wanted to see the mud volcano area we hit on the first day and Ella wanted to rent bikes. We figured out that bikes were available at Old Faithful so on day two, after touring the West Thumb geyser area along Lake Yellowstone, we headed back over to Old Faithful and picked up some mountain bikes and a trailer. We hit the trails behind Old Faithful and had a great two-hours of riding around while surrounded by geysers and steaming pools. If you rent bikes, I recommend taking the "Daisy Trail" over to Biscuit Basin (trail map linked here). This is a dirt trail with a very small amount of elevation change that travels through some forested areas as well as some open meadows. It is a really nice ride that gets you away from the crowds.
Ella was really excited about her choice to bike ride because it ended up putting us in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. While hanging out at the end of the paved bike trail by the Morning Glory Pool we noticed a huge plume of steam coming up through the trees. We rode back to the Grotto Geyser area and saw Giant Geyser erupting. It was huge and people were going NUTS. There was screaming, there was running, there were people getting drenched by sulfery smelling water. It was crazy. But it wasn't until after we rode out to Biscuit Basin and back that we realized just how crazy. As it turns out, Giant Geyser erupts only occasionally. And by occasionally, I mean once every 2-5 years. And we were there. And we watched it. What we did not do is take a single picture or video of it erupting. But I did take an after-the-fact photo of the sign showing the eruption dates. So. Cool.
Following our epic geyser viewing we made one last stop on the way back to camp, the Midway Geyser Basin. This area is where you can find the Grand Prismatic. This was my favorite spot in all of our Yellowstone stops. Watching water pour off the hot springs and into the river is amazing to see and the colors to the Grand Prismatic will blow your mind. I took my best picture of the trip at the Grand Prismatic. Let's be honest, this is may be the best picture I will take in my life.
We were back at camp before dinner and took some time to relax before our last, marathon day.
Our day three started with lunch at the Fishing Bridge Diner, located at the back of the general store. The diner is retro-awesome. I took this adorable picture of Henry while eating there.
I also took this one. #sorrynotsorry
Following lunch we decided to drive out to Mammoth Hot Springs. This section of the park was on the clear other end from our campsite but well worth it. The Mammoth area is very different than the geyser basin. The hot springs leave deposits that collect into terraces that change dramatically over time--the Park Service says the changes are sometimes noticeable day to day. In addition to the hot springs, the Mammoth area was where the US Army soldiers made camp in 1886 to help control poaching in the area. Historic buildings and Fort Yellowstone still exist and some can be toured. There is also a museum and other sites to see in the small town. If you are around the north-west end of the park this area is well worth a visit. More on the Mammoth Hot Spring area can be found here.
Following Mammoth, we drove out to the Roosevelt Lodge for dinner (which is small, historic, and adorable) and finished our day with a drive through Lemar Valley at sunset. We saw lots of bison, including adorable babies, and, in the last 30 minutes of sunlight, on our last day in Yellowstone, we saw bears. Two to be exact. A mother grizzly bear and her cub. I took pictures but they didn't do the experience justice. Just know it was super rad. And, just like that, our trip to Yellowstone, and our road-trip as a whole, was complete.
We started our two-week journey with some apprehension--spending extended periods of time with three children in a trailer smaller than your bathroom will make even the strongest of individuals squirm. But, in the end, it turned out we had nothing to fear. In fact, should time have allowed, I think we would have been happy to have spent another week checking National Parks off of our list.
Until next time, adventure. I'm sure we will be seeing you again very, very soon.